Kia Motors launches Seltos in India; starting at a price of Rs 9.69 lakhs

Kia Motors India has announced the pricing of its mid-size SUV, the Seltos, with the range starting at Rs 9.69 lakh ex-showroom, for the base naturally aspirated petrol, going up to Rs 15.99 lakh ex-showroom, for the top-end turbo petrol. [caption id=“attachment_7174041” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  It doesn’t have 4x4 yet, but it’s great fun to drive.[/caption] Variant wise pricing for the three BS6-compliant engine options is as follows (all prices are ex-showroom India):

• Kia Seltos Petrol 1.5 price range - Rs 9.69-13.79 lakh
• Kia Seltos Diesel 1.5 price range - Rs 9.99-15.99 lakh
• Kia Seltos Petrol 1.4 price range - Rs 13.49-15.99 lakh

The **Kia Seltos (Review)** shares its platform with the Hyundai Creta, utilising a 20mm stretch in wheelbase to liberate a perceptible amount of interior space. Dimensionally, however, it is larger than the Creta in every metric except height. Even so, the Seltos cuts a striking figure out on the road, with a wide, squat stance thanks to the large Kia signature Tiger nose grille, and wraparound headlights with LED detailing and LED fog lamps, depending on the variant. A first for the segment is the slim LED bar which extends from the LED DRLs in the headlights towards the centre pinched section of the grille. At the rear, the skid plate complements the faux dual muffler design incorporated within the bumper itself. Importantly, there are key visual differentiators between the two trim lines. The Seltos GT Line comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, red accents including the brake calipers and an option of a dual-tone roof, while the lower Tech Line variants come with 16-inch alloys. The cabin of the Seltos boasts a few segment firsts as well, including a 10.25-inch touchscreen, an 8-inch HUD, Bose audio, ventilated seats, a 360-degree parking camera, blind-spot monitoring system and LED sound-reactive ambient lighting. Also making the features list will be Kia’s UVO connected car technology and voice recognition software, and the usual standards of smartphone connectivity. The cabins of the two trims are differentiated as well, with the Tech Line bringing a dual-tone beige/black interior to the table, while the GT Line offers a sportier all-black cabin. The rear seat back on both can be adjusted for recline in two stages, and can be split 60:40 to liberate more boot space. The Kia Seltos will face competition from a number of models, with the closely-related **Hyundai Creta** standing out as the most successful till date, while the **Tata Harrier** and **MG Hector** are new entrants which have also drummed up a lot of attention in the segment.